Two-minute drill: Tuscola football
· Yahoo Sports
Jul. 7—Four items to know about Tuscola football — The News-Gazette's No. 8 team in our preseason Top 10 poll — before the 2026 season kicks off:
Visit h-doctor.club for more information.
DATE OPPONENT TIME
Aug. 21 at Warrensburg-Latham 7 p.m.
Aug. 28 vs. Shelbyville 7 p.m.
Sept. 4 vs. Ottawa Marquette 7 p.m.
Sept. 11 at Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley 7 p.m.
Sept. 18 vs. Deer Creek-Mackinaw 7 p.m.
Sept. 25 TBD TBD
Oct. 2 at Tremont 7 p.m.
Oct. 9 vs. LeRoy 7 p.m.
Oct. 16 at Heyworth 7 p.m.
The Warriors are still looking for a Week 6 opponent, but should have a good idea where they stand by that point in the season regardless. The Warriors will open the season against Warrensburg-Latham for the second time in three years before facing four consecutive teams that qualified for the playoffs in 2025. Former Salt Fork coach Joe Hageman, now at Tremont, will host the Warriors to open the final third of their season, while LeRoy and Heyworth should pose tough tests as Tuscola gears up for the playoffs.
Tuscola took down Shelbyville 16-14 to open its season, then dropped a 20-16 decision against Casey-Westfield before rattling off five consecutive wins, the last being a forfeit win against Fisher on Oct. 10. The Warriors then lost to Heyworth and notched a win against LeRoy that kept the Panthers out of the playoffs to finish the regular season at 7-2. But No. 5 seed Tuscola had a short stay in the Class 1A playoffs with a 28-19 first-round exit against 12th-seeded Nokomis.
Historically, the Warriors would have been in the mix for plenty of first-round playoff byes had the IHSA adopted its 384-team playoff format sooner. That reflects in the six state championship games Tuscola has been involved in, the most recent of which occurred in 2017. But the Warriors — led by Jon Pettry, Evan Vearil and Tytus Hornaday, among others — haven't won a playoff game since 2023, giving their seniors plenty of motivation to go out on a high note ahead of this upcoming season.